Streaming giant Netflix handily claimed its seat as television’s critical dynamo Tuesday by capturing 160 nominations for the 2020 Emmy Awards, setting an industry record and unseating rival HBO.
The Los Gatos, Calif.-based company’s massive haul was led by multiple nominations for its violent crime drama “Ozark,” the British royal period piece “The Crown” and the post-World War II show business miniseries “Hollywood.”
HBO, long a favorite of the academy, scored 107 nominations, including 26 kudos for its masked-hero drama “Watchmen.” The series, loosely based on the seminal graphic novel of the same name, is the most-nominated program of the year, up for awards including limited series.
HBO had returned to the pole position last year thanks to the final season of “Game of Thrones” and Bill Hader’s dark comedy “Barry.” The subscription cable network previously enjoyed a 17-year streak at the top of the Emmy nominations heap that was interrupted by Netflix in 2018.
This year, though, Netflix surged ahead. Its nomination total was 36% greater than the 118 it secured last year. Netflix has been racing to become a dominant player in television viewing, with an all-encompassing programming strategy that spans trashy reality, documentaries and prestige dramas. Its high-volume strategy has led to its dominance in awards nominations.
The winners of the major awards will be announced Sept. 20 on ABC, which is owned by Walt Disney Co.
This year’s Emmys come during the intersection of two pivotal moments in the television industry’s history: the COVID-19 pandemic and the so-called streaming wars.
With out-of-home entertainment options still limited in many areas due to restrictions meant to curb the coronavirus’ spread, viewers have turned to stream services’ seemingly bottomless wells of content to stay occupied. Meanwhile, the major media companies have recently introduced a bevy of new streaming outlets to compete with Netflix: Disney+, HBO Max, NBCUniversal’s Peacock and the short-form mobile startup Quibi.
Beyond bragging rights, awards such as the Emmys are key for the streaming services because they serve as a way to market themselves to subscribers. Critically acclaimed original shows are how streamers stand out among a growing number of well-funded competitors.
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Source: latimes
